Best F/A-18F kit in 1/48th?

Modeling Subjects Aircraft
21

Not entirely true. While some manufacturers do have a certain track record, it can give a certain indication of what the kit might turn out to be. As for myself, I like to give each kit a fair shake. However some people like to get a good idea of what they’re spending their money on before they purchase a kit. A good kit is a good kit, no matter what logo is on the box. However in this case, I was hoping for something better for the SH kit from R/M. It was touted to be the best kit of the subject yet. When the suggested retail price was revealed, I though wow! Good kit and good value! But it wasn’t to be. I bought an built the kit, and wasn’t as satisfied as I thought I would be. At least I hadn’t paid an exhorbitant amount for something I didn’t feel was worth it.

I’m a subject modeler, and if I’m interested in the subject, I’ll take all comers to the plate. If Trumpeter can make a better kit of an F-105 than Monogram, bring it on. If Revell Germany can make a better 1/72 scale F-16 than Hasegawa, by all means. Even Italeri…if they can make the best 1/72 A-10, I’ll buy at least a half dozen (and I have).

So at least for me, the labeling isn’t going to get me to declare something crap, sight unseen. But when you’ve had a chance to examine or build it, call a spade a spade.

22

Read my last post. And I agree with your assessment of the Revell F-15E, it’s outstanding! I have several of those kits in my stash. The F-86D I’m currently working on is my first so far, and definitely won’t be the last! It’s a gem to be sure. But therein lies part of the problem. I like Revell/Monogram, and Revell Germany very much. I have no beef with Revell/Monogram, except for the fact that they’re inconsistent. They can produce jewels like the Beagle and the SabreDog, yet they produce something not quite up to that standard on the next round. Like I said, the SH kit isn’t that bad. And for the money, hey you can’t beat it. If you don’t want to for over the $60+ for the Hase kit, the R/M kit is the next best thing, for a third of the price, I say hooah! But I don’t agree that you’re not missing much. You’re missing quite a bit. You can still build a repsectable SH out of the kit. I have built the kit, it was a fun, quick build, the fit was good, but not great. The detail was very good, albeit highly inaccurate in places. But the best in scale it is not. It’s not even to the level of the F-15E or the F-86D.

Another peoblem I had with R/M was their distributorship when they had RoG under their umbrella. I couldn’t stand the fact that they wouldn’t make any imports to the USDM but three times a year! That’s insane! And it’s even an American company! The problem was alleviated when RoG split on their own and now their new kits arrive in a much more timely manner. And all is right with the world [;)]

23

It all boils down to what you are willing to spend and that is the bottom line.

I know the Hasegawa F-18s are excellent kits but it pisses me off that they charge so much for their kits when it is uncalled for. For example, I think my Monogram A-1H Skyraider came out as good as any higher priced kit on the market but that all depends on what you are willing to spend or what you find appealing in a kit.

My favorite P-47D kit is the Tamiya and while it is 3 times as much money as the Monogram kit I think it is worth it. When Hasegawa is charging upwards of $60 for a 1/48 F-18 though I draw the line there. I can buy a 1/32 scale Tamiya F-15E for about $30 more so Hasegawa is out of their mind on their prices IMHO.

24

(BEFORE READING the following, place your tongue firmly in your cheek)

I came up when $5 for a kit was a lot.Talking about $60+ for ANY kit makes it hard for me to leave my chair [:O] Now Trumpeter is asking 125$ for some of their new releases. Did you hear that sound, just then? That was my pacemaker going into kick-start mode!

It certainly seems that people have more money than sense, at least to me.

You and I both know there is a lot tied up in a kit. Development, tooling, manufacturing; well it is costly even when you consider they press mucho thousands of them for sale. You also cant miss the fact that that the Greater Asian USDollar Sucking Consortium has done a great job in recent years of improving the overall quality of both their kits and those of others through competitive survival.

But, c’mon a plastic kit that cost $60-70 had better have more than nice pieces in there. Even good fit aint gonna be enough - it BETTER have that for the money we’re talking. That’s sort of a no-brainer, don’t you think?

But, then you read in some review that the decals in this mondo-dollar kit suck royal backside. Or maybe the canopy is too thick (or foggy) or doesnt fit right. Or some other gross error like overlong landing gear plagues the thing.

Finally, you discover that someone saw fit to make upgrade bits for one of these wallet busters to improve and even correct the beast. I tell you, not only has my pacemaker shorted out, but my blood pressure medicine just stopped working.

I mean, we’re spending the equivalent of tankfulls of gas, lunch out for the week and yet another trip to the salon for my stylish wife - and still we need fiddly bits to improve what just became, by default, a flawed product? Give me a break! Even Donald Trump would question the reasoning here.

It DOES matter where you draw the line, in the end. For me, it’ll be on the side of fiscal sensibility. I’m sorry, but the old saw, “You Get What You Pay For,” doesn’t hold up well inside a box full of styrene plastic.

I DO want to thank you all for helping, though. You’ve done us all a great service. I now know that it will be good old Revell for an F-18, which I’ve been wanting to add to the collection. The Hasegawa will have to go the next guy. If there are any glaring needs, why I’ll do what appears to be somewhat rare… I’ll engineer/model them into being.

I’ll then spend the difference in kits on other things. Why, some of those crappy HobbyCraft kits are looking good, all of a sudden…

25

I like cheese! [:-,]

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If you condense what everybody has posted on this thread, you’ll pretty much have your answer. I’ve built quite a few R/M SH’s for VFA-11, and they aren’t a bad kit at all. They do have some minor fit issues, but nothing that would label it a “crappy” kit. I used the R/M kit for the basis of my Growler in this month’s FSM and thought it looked the part. I think there were high expectations about this kit when it was first released, and…well…it just didn’t meet them. With that said, it builds up into a very nice SH, and if you plan on building a bunch, then this is the kit to buy. If you just want one or two, though, the Hasegawa kits are extremely nice. They also have some problems, but again, nothing major. Italeri is a distant third, although they have fixed some things on their Growler release.

27

Umm…thanks for the advise on the Super Hornet kits!

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As I write this reply I look at my unstarted 1/48 revell F/A 18E super hornet. Very fine, smooth mould, high detail, minimal flash and 158 parts. I know you’re looking for an 18F but depending on how old the revell 18F is it should have similar criteria and be just as superior as the 18E super. But never take anyone’s word for it, do your homework.

have a good one, somenewguy